You don’t want to hear it, and I don’t want to write it. But it happened, and it’s news, so I have to mention it. The Cubs and Red Sox have submitted written arguments to the Commissioner’s Office regarding the Theo Epstein compensation dispute (only two organizations run by lawyers would submit briefs … which sounds like I’m making fun, but I’m not: this may be the first time since leaving the law that I feel a twinge of “oh man, I want to write a brief”). I’m actually glad it came to this, because, unless there are a number of meaningful facts of which we’re not aware, the Cubs have the better arguments here. Let’s hope they make them well.

Baseball American would place Cuban pitcher Gerardo Concepcion, recently-signed by the Cubs for $7 million, all the way down at number 19 on the team’s top prospect list (a far cry from the top 10 placement by Kevin Goldstein). On Concepcion, BA says, “The 19-year-old stands out more with his advanced feel for pitching than he does for his pure stuff. His fastball ranges from 86-92 mph and his curveball ranges from inconsistent to solid,” and quotes a scout who adds, “If everything works out, maybe he becomes Randy Wolf.” I’d say it’s a fair bet the Cubs think more highly of Concepcion than that.

Ozzie Guillen thinks the Marlins’ uniforms “look bad,” and thinks Carlos Zambrano got “out of hand” in Chicago. The Marlins are going to be this season’s team on Showtime’s ‘The Franchise,’ by the way. Yes, that sounds about right.

So, anyone want to offer up their Chicago Cubs Valentine’s? I just sent mine to Matt Garza – it has a picture of the cat above, and says (you guessed it) “I think you’re the cat’s pajamas.”

The White Sox are hoping this year’s slogan – “Appreciate the Game” – isn’t made the subject of fun like last year’s slogan – “All In.” That pretty much guarantees that we’re going to make fun of it.

Scott Kazmir is hoping to come back after falling off the map (his fastball lost many miles per hour, and his stuff vanished), and will throw for scouts tomorrow. Seems like the kind of guy the Cubs of old would have taken a look at as a reclamation project (which is distinct from a bounce-back candidate), but I’m not sure the new guys would take a chance.

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